onward and upward is what I always say... or almost always... or in this particular instance i am saying it. Honestly I think I've only said it a couple times - most were probably while hiking some sort of mountain or climbing something. It's a good saying, though. In this case it is referring to our transition to the northern Island of New Zealand and oh, what a place it is to be.
It's a bit warmer up here - not hot by any means - but warm enough to be wearing shorts and t-shirts for the most part. Occasionally a long sleeve T or a pair of jeans will get thrown in there. The story of how we got here is quite a doozie, so buckle up.
Twas the night before easter and all through the land,
Businesses were locked and keys were in hand.
The rescuers down under... together no more.
But three in NZ in the airport for sure.
We all sat in Christchurch, awaiting the morn.
Heading towards Auckland on the day Christ's reborn.
Waiting in the terminal, with 50 people or so.
Wondering if... tomorrow it might snow.
Now that's just silly, it's only autumn here.
Don't you worry - we're staying quite warm my dear.
Ordering Dominos Pizza was not the easiest to do,
Finding an address for them to deliver it to.
When it finally arrived, oh there was glee!
And a beer or two for you and for me.
We had canned food and drinks, but had to travel light.
So it was eat or get tossed before our early morning flight.
So we ate and we drank and played loads of games,
and met some people with silly little names.
A shower and everything and bedtime so soon.
This airport was great... we get our own room!
Well not exactly - we shared it with others.
Children and bikes and friends and mothers.
And in the morning, everyone was out.
To Auckland with glee and a hop and a shout!
Alright so that's my impromptu poem about our night in the airport. It was glorious. We had fun and except for sleeping on the hard floor, it was quite nice. We flew 'Air New Zealand', which is the best airline in the world... I'm convinced. The ladies at the customer service desk were so helpful the day before when we were trying to figure out how we could get somewhere in the north Island for the cheapest. They even looked up prices on competitor's websites for us just to check and see... and then when it came down to it they booked our flights with no $15 booking fee and saved us again. (She saw taylor eating cold baked beans or chili or something right out of the can and felt compassion for us... and she said go buy a decent meal with the money she'd saved us. What a lady.) The airplane was amazing - hundreds of games, movies, tv shows, etc. to choose from to keep you entertained for free. Erin and I will be flying Air New Zealand home for sure... if we can afford it.
Auckland was weird. I'm not going to waste time writing about it right now, but it's sufficient to say that it wasn't awesome, but wasn't totally crappy either. We did see 'The Boat that Rocked' while there and that movie is phenomenal. I don't know if it is out or was out in the US yet, but it's amazing. Hilarius. Go see it. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is in it. Awesome.
Rotorua was great. Stinky, but great. It smells strongly of sulfur everywhere in the town. Rotorua is where we went Zorbing. Now, if you don't know... youtube it. Basically you are in a giant hamster ball rolling down a hill. It rules. Also we went to the agrodome adventure center, which has all sorts of adventure activites and fun stuff. Taylor bungee jumped, Erin did the freefall extreme (a giant fan simulates freefall for a few minutes as you float above it in a skydiving suit - so sweet), and we all did the swoop (basically you're all in sleeping bags harnessed to a a wire and tethered 60 meters above the ground or so... then they let it go and you swing aggressively towards the ground, and back up again. Similar to the canyon swing but smaller and all of us did it at the same time. So much fun). We also saw a sheep shearing show there... crap, I'm out of time. Gotta run but I'll fill you in more because that show was hilarious. Love you and miss you all.
- Jesse "ricardo hiraldo rivera the main man" Meredith
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Your poem is a riot! And you talk about me! Love you, miss you, wish you were here or i was there. Mom-pie
ReplyDeleteWEll NOW, thats a hoot.
ReplyDeleteTwas a good day for sure,
Thats the day I bought the Ford
All was going swell,
Because I was busy as H____.
Volleyball, driving and car buying,
All makes well for DD surviving.
Volleyball players abound,
But none as good as Jesse are around.
My eyes were crossed with all the balls,
Including a few coaches I would like to plaster to the walls.
But when all was said and done,
Gov. Mifflin was the one who won.
Buying two classic mustangs,
Well thats the trick,
I would love to keep one,
As they are really slick.
A white one and red one for sure,
Hopefully I will get to buy many more.
France, thats the place,
Where these two will finally race.
Add a Toyota Sequoia to the mix,
And after the rain, I will forward some pix.
All the Dodge Deisel is gone too,
So for last week all I can say is PHEW.
So this week I have slowed down to a walk,
Mom and I actually have time to talk.
A friday leisurelly dinner will be good for a bite,
Who knows what will happen the rest of the nite.
One thing is for sure,
We will both be screaming for more.
Saturday will be refreshing with lots of sun,
Only to add to all of our fun.
Good to hear from you and that your doing well. When do you go back to Australia? Your time should be about up? Hello to Erin and let us hear from you. Mom says hello.
Love DD
Hey Jesse.
ReplyDeleteI don't know who is the better poet, you or your dad. Never was my subject.
What a time you all are having & I did watch you latest youtube chat. You look great!
We had the best time up in Moab, Utah. It is definately a bicycle & jeepers paradise. Good hiking too.
The teryx was the perfect ride for those easy, moderate & difficult trails. Didn't do much of the difficult ones, they're pretty severe.
Our friends took their Hummer 3 which was a good ride also. I was wind blown & dusty from one week of riding. Great time!
Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, just didn't have the time. We rode all day & after our dinners we were too pooped to pop.
Good to hear from you & will look forward to your next blog.
Love you, Aunt Sandy